"Cousin!"
Seeing Zhe Yourong from afar, Zhe Yanbin immediately shouted excitedly.
"You小子, you look much more spirited after this trip out!"
Although the two were close in age, Zhe Yourong had always been strong-willed, and coupled with the fact that Zhe Yourong's skills were far superior to Zhe Yanbin's, Zhe Yanbin was truly impressed by his cousin.
Not to mention the huge benefits the entire Zhe family had gained from Han Mo's idea.
"Cousin, you have no idea. After this trip, I realized that the sea is so much vaster than the land!"
"You've gotten darker, but you're also much more spirited! It seems you've made a lot of progress following Mr. Shao!"
Seeing that her usually flippant younger cousin now had the bearing of a soldier, Zhe Yourong smiled with satisfaction.
"Of course, otherwise, how could Cousin-in-law have entrusted me with leading the team?"
"Alright, alright, don't get ahead of yourself. What good things have you brought back this time?"
"They're all on the ships behind us. I had them pick out the best few chests of jewelry from the ships, and Cousin Tang can take them back later!"
Hearing Zhe Yourong's question, Zhe Yanbin became excited and led Zhe Yourong and Liang Hongyu into the ship's cabin.
"Husband said before that the wealth from the sea far surpasses that of the Central Plains by a hundredfold. I didn't believe it before, but now I'm truly convinced..."
Looking at the dazzling gold, silver, and jewels under the torchlight, even Zhe Yourong was momentarily dazzled.
"The goods on these few ships were all selected from this trip's harvest. As for the items that are not easy to sell or of poor quality, they have all been sent to the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office! These are the documents issued by them, and Mr. Shao asked me to give them to you, Cousin!"
"Hoo—"
Looking at the document he took out, even Zhe Yourong couldn't help but gasp.
The Zhe family's business was already incredibly profitable, but even if all their earnings from the beginning until now were added up, the total was only about six million guan.
Furthermore, a large portion of this had been converted into goods, shops, and land.
However, Shao Bowen and his crew had only gone out to sea for less than two months, and they had brought back so much wealth at once.
The sheer impact of this made it difficult for Zhe Yourong to believe.
"Cousin, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. How about this, I'll have them prepare a carriage later, and you can have your men deliver the goods to the estate outside the city!"
Zhe Yourong had initially thought that they would be lucky to bring back a million guan of wealth this time, but now, the goods on just this ship alone were likely worth over a million.
These five ships would then be worth 5 million guan!
Coupled with the receipts from the Maritime Trade Office, even if there were a large quantity and the prices were discounted, after all of them were sold, it would likely be at least six to seven million guan!
After a rough calculation of the value of these items, even the experienced Zhe Yourong felt her legs go weak.
"By the way, Cousin, Mr. Shao said to have me return to assist you with the matter of several major families investing. What's the situation here?"
"It's nothing much, really. Only the Huang family wants to invest with their own ships and join the East India Trading Company! Your brother-in-law's intention is for our ships to be used as warships, and their ships primarily for transportation!"
"And how many ships do they have?"
Hearing Zhe Yourong say this, Zhe Yanbin's eyes immediately lit up.
Having followed Shao Bowen and the others around Nanyang for so long, he had a general understanding of naval warfare. Although their fleet had looked massive on this trip, most of their ships had been converted into warships, and it was a waste to use them solely for transporting goods.
If they could have several dozen more merchant ships now, there would be so much more they could do!
At the very least, cities like Haifang City could be plundered dozens of times within a month if they had enough ships!
Even if this kind of business couldn't be done often, according to Shao Bowen, after the New Year's Day, it would be the prime season for picking spices!
Every additional ship used to transport spices would earn them hundreds of thousands of guan in copper coins!
"Although the Huang family's strength cannot compare to the Pu family, they still possess over two hundred ships of various sizes, with about a hundred large ships of a thousand tons or more!"
"Over 200 ships?"
Hearing Zhe Yourong say this, Zhe Yanbin became completely excited.
"Have your men start unloading the cargo first. After the goods on the ships are unloaded, they can also rest for a few days. When you set sail again after the New Year's Day, you can take them with you!"
"That would be great! I'll go and instruct the men to prepare for unloading now!"
With a cheer, Zhe Yanbin excitedly ran onto the deck, beckoning the sailors to prepare for unloading.
"Hongyu, see if there's anything here that catches your eye. You might as well pick out a few boxes! These items might look crude, but with some skilled craftsmen, a few nice pieces of jewelry can be made!"
Although Zhe Yourong was also shocked, she had always been by Han Mo's side, so her perspective had broadened considerably. After the initial brief moment of stunned silence, she quickly recovered.
However, Liang Hongyu did not have her strong psychological resilience and was still in a state of shock.
"No, no, no, I can't accept this. This is too precious..."
Looking at the jade that was so green it could almost reflect a person's image, and the pearls as round as pigeon eggs, Liang Hongyu shook her head like a rattle drum.
"Silly girl, these things were brought back by the shipful. Do you think they can be that precious? Besides, even including Han Yan, your elder brother only has two younger sisters. What are mere external possessions? I think these pearls are nice, and this jade also looks of good quality. Since you don't want to pick, I, as your sister-in-law, will decide for you!"
Seeing the shock on Liang Hongyu's face, Zhe Yourong was extremely pleased. This was exactly the effect she wanted! When it came to giving gifts, if it wasn't done perfectly the first time, the effect would be much worse!
"But..."
"Alright, there's no 'but'!"